A different way to make a difference

University of Alberta chancellor Nizar Somji hopes his latest philanthropic gift will carry forward his mother Zarina’s lifelong commitment to helping others.

Growing up, Nizar Somji saw what it meant to care for a community. His mother, Zarina, was always ready to help someone who was struggling, whether that meant providing food, offering support or simply being there when someone needed her.

“She lived her life in service to others. Whether people were in need, struggling or needed help, she was always there for them,” says Somji. “I was looking for something I could do in her name that would be meaningful to her, but also meaningful to my kids and grandkids.”

Now, Somji is carrying that spirit forward with a founding gift establishing the Senate Social Innovation Fund and the Zarina Somji Social Innovation Research Award. Named in his mother’s memory, the annual $25,000 award will help U of A researchers work alongside communities to develop practical solutions to some of Alberta’s most pressing social challenges.

For Somji, the gift connects two things close to his heart: his mother’s belief in helping others, and his conviction that universities play an important role in improving people’s everyday lives.

Somji’s passion for social innovation grew during nearly nine years volunteering in Africa and Pakistan, where he witnessed how creative approaches to long-standing challenges could help foster stronger and more resilient communities.

Returning to Edmonton, he recognized an opportunity for the university to build on its research expertise and strengthen partnerships with communities. By bringing different perspectives together, he saw the potential to develop lasting solutions to complex, interconnected challenges such as homelessness.

Researchers across the U of A are already exploring these challenges, he says, but often within their individual disciplines. Somji believes bringing those perspectives together — from engineering and business to medicine, nursing and beyond — could open doors to solutions that might otherwise go unexplored.

One example is Bridge Healing, an initiative sparked by U of A students in Dr. Louis Francescutti’s class that grew into a partnership between the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation and Jasper Place Wellness Centre. This impactful program helps patients leaving hospital care, who would otherwise be unhoused, access supportive transitional housing and wraparound healthcare.

“What excites me more is that people will start looking at each problem with a different set of eyes,” he says.

The award reflects the U of A Senate’s commitment to championing social innovation by connecting university research with community knowledge and experience. By strengthening partnerships and helping promising ideas move into practical use, it aims to create opportunities for researchers and communities to develop solutions with lasting impact.

Somji sees his founding gift as a beginning, not an endpoint.

He hopes the award will raise the profile of community-engaged research, inspire greater collaboration across the university and encourage other donors to help expand the fund’s reach.

“We are seeding something that we think can grow,” he says.

For Somji, that growth would mean more researchers working together, more communities helping shape solutions and more opportunities to turn knowledge into meaningful change.

It would also mean carrying forward a family legacy that began long before the award existed. Zarina’s generosity, first demonstrated in Tanzania and later in Canada, continues to influence how her son thinks about responsibility to others.

“This is not about me or the Senate,” Somji says. “It’s about creating awareness and visibility, and getting people excited to say, ‘I can be part of the solution.’”

Interested in supporting research that makes a difference in Alberta communities? Learn more about how you can contribute to the Senate Social Innovation Fund and help grow the reach of the Zarina Somji Social Innovation Research Award.